a friend is selling a 1988 RX7 GTU for $500. Iwould like to buy but need to know if their engines are expensive to work on or not. The interior needs work which is fine but the bottom line is are they expensive to work on and how hard are they to maintain?

Help needed ...Thank you

 

how many miles are on the engine/chassis? does it run now and how well if so?

 

The engine has 164k miles on it. It runs well except for some grinding in the gear box when you go from third to forth.

 

A little more expensive to work on then a conventional engine, but it's all relative. Just remember that if you're buying a $500 car, you're getting a $300 car. Keep the condition in mind.

 

I think I will pick it up. It might be a challenge but so is life. The rx7's are nice once fixed up.....

 

The N/a's are faily cheap to maintain but parts are a little more expensive than regular cars. The transmission work should be easy to get done since there is nothing different in the gear box than that of a regular car.

 

i bought my n/a tranny (used obviously) for $100. he threw in a bunch of other ****, too.

 

The 88 GTU is a great one to get.
It is a Turbo II with out the turbo.
Meaning it is 5 lug with 4 piston caliper brakes in the front.

Engines are about 2k for a great rebuilt with a warranty usually.

The tranny shouldn't hard to get/rebuild.

The NA engines usually go to 180-200k before dying.
Just change the oil regularly and make sure it doesn't over heat and it should be a good car.

 

Please keep in mind that this is a 14 year old car. Unless the fellow you are buying it from was the original owener, you have no idea how it has been maintained/nursed/abused/neglected. The simple truth is that rotaries are great cars, and require as much attention as the piston wannabe's.

If you have some basic automotive skills, have access to bone yards with terminated 7's, and want to learn how to take care of her, she will treat you as ou treat her and in the end have one hell of a great time. BTW, if ya ain't get one get a job cuz she may take a few bucks from your wallet.

 

Any $500 car is going to have problems. The engine probably needs a rebuild SOON, which is a whopping $2,000, but then it will last for another 150,000 miles if you take care of it, so the price is not bad in the long run. The 3-4th gear grinding may just be the synchros. You can put synthetic oil in the transmission to reduce the grinding, but at some point it will need repairs. Used non-turbo transmissions sell for about $80-150, and are pretty common. Rebuilt transmissions sell for about $600, which is not too bad. Plan on other parts to go bad, most likely the fuel injectors, pulsation dampers, front wheel bearings, shocks and springs, driveshaft, and probably a surprise or two just to keep you on your toes. Just keep about $1,000 extra in your checking account, and you should be covered. Also get the towing insurance added to your vehicle insurance plan, which is probably only about $6/year extra, and well worth it.

All in all, I think the 88 GTU is one of the better project cars to start with. It's also my favorite 2Gen RX-7 model next to the 86-87 Sport, which is basically the same car but with an aero kit. The turbocharged cars have too many issues and don't have the same great handling feel, and the 89-92 cars are too expensive and too heavy.

I realize that Mazda is behind this comparison, but I don't like it at all. The GTU does have basically the same brakes as a TurboII, but it does not have the heavier TurboII transmission, clutch, driveshaft, halfshafts, and differential. Note that "heavier" means heavier, not necessarily better.

 

are you saying that the GTU is like a Sport, but the sport having the aero kit?? hmmm......my car has the aerodynamic kit, foam stuff under front bumper and before rear fender, and also the Turbo rear spoiler...and GXL wheels, so that makes it a GTU right?

 

You are confusing me by mixing up all the trim, lol.

First of all, the aero kit was unique to the Sport, and was not available on any other model, although similar aero kit parts were available from Finish Line, which was Mazda's aftermarket store. The aero kit was simple-looking black plastic wheel well trim and a spoiler made out of the same material. The GTU did not have the aero kit, nor did any other RX-7 ever made.

Next, the Sport spoiler was NOT like the TurboII/NA spoiler, which didn't come out until 1988, when the Sport was no longer available. The Sport spoiler was black plastic, while the TurboII/NA spoilers were painted the body color.

Finally, yes, the GTU and GXL had the same 15" wheels, which looked like a smaller version of the 16" turbo wheels.

The easiest way to tell if you have a GXL rather than a GTU is to look for the AAS switch (labled Normal/Sport) on the center console, and/or look for electrical wires going to the top of the shock absorbers. Only the GXL came with these stock.

See the gold Sport in this picture. Notice the unique black spoiler, and the black aero pieces on the bottom of the car just forward of each wheel well.
http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/brochu....asp?Number=23
See the rest of that brochure for more details about trim differences, or also see this link:
http://home.earthlink.net/~icemark/index2.htm

Now that that's all said and done, there is no telling what the previous owners bolted onto your car. If it makes you feel any better, my 2Gen is an 88 SE body with a TII hood, JC Cosmo engine, S5 RX-7 front end, and GXL hubs & brakes. Oh yeah, and Mustang AN fittings because the speed shop didn't have any AN fittings for a Mazda.

 

This is sad but i got an 88 rx7 and i cant find out what type it is. it is a non turbo but is it a GTU or a GXL. i have looked everywhere. it dost not say. the vin # is burned off ( dont ask long story)

 

Um, the VIN is made out of METAL and is on the dash as well as the firewall. If the VIN is burned off, then that means your unibody melted, which means you no longer have a car, lol. Anyway, the VIN will only tell you the year, engine TII/NA, and convertible/coupe.

What you need is the chassis number. Look in the driver's side door jam. Do you see a sticker with a 4-digit code that starts with FB?

 

It's really quite easy to tell if it's a base or gtu.Gtu's have turboII seats,aero kit,suspension and brakes.They also only have a/c and power sunroof as options.Gxl's all have power accessories as standard options and ***.Se's are similar to the gtu.But have different aero kit and options.

 

The SE has the smaller 14" 4-lug wheels, single-piston brakes, and NO aero kit. See the links in one of my previous posts for a list of standard, optional, and accessory items.

Just for clarification, the 1988-on aero kit was not anything like the earlier Sport aero kit.

 

My bad,Thanks for the info tho.

 

Yep, I use to have a old 86 "Sport" pretty cool car...Its the only one I have ever seen like it...
The 88 GTU's are pretty cool too...